Pasta with Tomatoes, Orange and Mint

Almost every day of the week I'm home late. I'm at university or at work until 6pm and just not home till 6.30 or 7. My recipes reflect this lifestyle most of the time. I love to spend a lot of time in the kitchen to prepare something special. It is really relaxing to spend hours in the kitchen. But for the weekdays, I really need quick recipes since I'm usually starving when I get home. This pasta dish takes about 20 minutes to prepare, although there is not a lot to prepare in these 20 minutes.



Pasta with Tomatoes, Orange and Mint
Adapted from a recipe in our local newspaper, which they took from a Swiss cookbook called "maagische momente" by Thuri Maag

Ingredients:
~250g of dry pasta
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
~10 cherry tomatoes, chopped
a few flakes dried chilli
1 orange, zest and juice (you'll only need about 1/4 to 1/2 of the juice)
2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped
75gr mozzarella, in dice sized pieces, optional

Bring salt water to a boil and prepare the pasta according to instructions on package. In the meantime, heat the olive oil in a skillet on medium heat, add the garlic and sautee for a minute or two. Add the chopped tomatoes and the chilli flakes and sautee for another two to three minutes. Turn the heat on low and wait for the pasta to be al dente. Add the orange zest, juice, chopped mint and pasta to the skillet. Mix well and keep on low heat for another 1-2 minutes. Mix in the mozzarella and serve.

Serves 2.

Note: I used mozzarella but thought it didn't add much to the dish since the other flavors are quite prominent.